


With Eyes Wide Open

by Eryn13



Category: Bastarz - Fandom, Block B
Genre: Angst, Blind Character, BlindAU, CEO, Disability, Drama, Fluff, M/M, Medical Procedures, Romance, Smut, ceoau, medicalau
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:54:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23164321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eryn13/pseuds/Eryn13
Summary: Minhyuk has been working non-stop to take over his family's chain of hospitals. So much that he seems to have forgotten what they stand for in the first place. His father gives him an ultimatum- one week as a volunteer helper at the hospital. One week working with patients to remind himself why they do what they do. And no other work during that week. Minhyuk is expecting to be bored out of his mind. He's expecting old men and women and people too sick to move. He's not expecting Yukwon.Yukwon has been blind since childhood, due to a bad accident. And he has been on a cornea donor list for ages, but no match has been found for him. Every year he has one week in the hospital for his specialist to observe him and make sure everything is ok. This year is the first year without his father, and his brother Kyung is out of the country on work. He's expecting to be lonely and bored. He's not expecting a new volunteer at the hospital to make him feel so... alive.They weren't expecting to fall in love.
Relationships: Kim Yukwon | U-Kwon/Lee Minhyuk | B-Bomb
Kudos: 5





	With Eyes Wide Open

Yukwon was 12 when he lost his sight, a thunderstorm causing an electrical fire which caught on some chemicals in the house. The smoke from the fire had blinded Yukwon, and while he made it out alive he was never the same again. His family felt horrible, they had been out visiting his grandparents and left him home for the first time. No matter how much Yukwon tried to tell them he didn’t blame them it didn’t matter. The guilt remained. 

Shortly after his 13th birthday, they moved to the city to be closer to the hospital and specialists there. Plus his father had to move away from the house where his mother had passed away. But moving to the city came with its own issues. And it took years before Yukwon began to have a semblance of normalcy. But every year, like clockwork, he had one week to spend in the hospital. One week under observation and constant checkups, making sure that nothing has gotten worse. 

There’s only one issue this time- his father passed away last year… And his brother is out of town for work. So for the first time ever he has to go to the hospital alone. This is why, as he is boarding the subway, his phone goes off. Yukwon huffs a laugh, moving to a seat carefully with his cane. Sitting down with his bag between his feet he picks up his phone, carefully holding it to his ear. 

“Hello?” Yukwon asks, listening to the receiver as he picks up. 

“Kwonnie!” Yukwon smiles as the voice of his twin brother slips through the receiver. Causing him to let out a small laugh as he hears the pout in the other’s voice. “I’m so sorry I can’t be there with you! This stupid meeting ran over and-” 

“Kyung! Kyung, it's fine!” Yukwon laughs, “it’s okay. I’m an adult, I can go to the hospital on my own.” He hears a whine from the other end and laughs, “I’m ok. I know you didn’t plan on being gone for so long. Just concentrate on your work. I’ll see you when you get back, ok?” 

“Fine…” Kyung whines from the other end, “but you better message me if anything changes! I love you Kwonie.” 

“I love you too, Kyung. Now go back to work!” He snickers as they hang up. Shaking his head and putting his phone into his pocket. He only has a few more stops to go, and then he will need to get off the subway and head to the hospital. But for now, he leans back, listening carefully for the sound of the conductor. 

Minhyuk sighs as he pulls his car into the parking garage of the hospital. Looking out the window in annoyance, he allows himself two minutes to sit in the car and pout before he climbs out and heads inside. He moves through the halls with ease, greeting the staff easily before heading to the volunteer station. He takes a deep breath before knocking on the door and heading inside to face his fate. 

“Well, well, well… you actually showed up!” Minhyuk groans as he faces the head of the volunteers. Leveling a small glare at his cousin, he folds his arms and sighs. 

“Yeah… well not like I had a choice.” He says, rolling his eyes and moving over to the desk. “Look just give me my task so I can get to work. You can gloat some other time.” Jihoon grins at him, leaning back in his chair. 

“Awww… but what fun is that?” He snickers as Minhyuk’s eyes narrow, “fine, fine, fine.” He sighs, “you’re no fun anymore.” He ruffles through some papers on his desk before standing up. “Ok follow me.” He passes by Minhyuk, leading him out and through the hospital. 

They walk in silence, past the Emergency ward and the pregnancy ward. Up the elevator two floors, and back to a section of offices. Jihoon swipes his card at the doors and holds them open for the two of them. Leading Minhyuk back and talking to a nurse before turning back around to address Minhyuk. 

“Ok, so Dr. Lee has requested your assistance. He’s in charge of the extended-stay ward for the disabled, chronically ill, and elderly. You will be working as a volunteer in the Disabled and Chronically ill half of the ward. We have six patients currently in house there, and two new ones incoming today. He wants you to wait here, and then the two of you will go on a tour to greet all the patients.” Jihoon looks at Minhyuk slowly, “good luck, Min.” He says softly before pointing the other to a chair in an office and heading back out. 

Minhyuk sighs and sits down in the uncomfortable chair, pulling his phone out and looking at his mail. Not only was he forced to come work in their main hospital branch, he was banned from doing any other work while he was volunteering. Minhyuk was sure that by the end of the week he’d be insane. He sits there for maybe ten minutes before the doctor shows up. And when the doctor enters the room he has to hold back a groan. 

Dr. Lee. Of course. Lee Taeil, his best friend and older brother. The other had gone to be a doctor instead of taking over as CEO. Leaving that position to Minhyuk instead. It made sense that out of all the doctors the one to request him was his brother. Leaning his head back in his chair he lets out a long groan. Eyes closing and hands coming up to rub at his face. 

“Really?” He asks with a sigh, “did you and dad plan this?” He looks over at the other in annoyance, seeing Taeil barely able to contain a smile. The other snickers and comes over, poking his cheek lightly. 

“No, but I do think that working in my ward will help you.” He smiles at him, “come on.” he offers his hand to the other. “Let’s go. I have two new patients to mark in before passing them off to their own specialists. And I always check in with all my patients once a week to make sure that everything is going alright and that they don’t need anything else.” He pulls his brother to his feet and together the two head off. 

Minhyuk sighs as they make the rounds. Putting on a polite smile as he is introduced to all the current patients, before going to greet the two new ones. His brother was right, this might be good for him. He hadn’t expected so many younger people to be in the hospital full time. But they were all still older than him. In their thirties and forties. So he can’t say he was really surprised. 

It's not until they get to the last room that he is shocked. The person sitting on the bed is younger than anyone else he has seen so far. As Taeil walks in and over the other’s eyes turn towards them. But they remain unfocused, the other is smiling but it doesn’t reach his eyes. And that's when he realizes it. This male, who is younger than Minhyuk according to his chart, is blind. 

Yukwon arrives at the hospital just in time, glad his alarm had been set on his phone to tell him when he had ten minutes before his appointment. It went off just as he was walking into the hospital, causing him to let out a sigh of relief. He hated not having enough time, he needed the extra time to find his way to the correct ward. He carefully talks to one of the secretaries in the lobby before heading over to the elevators and taking them up to the correct ward. He’s very careful with his bag and his cane, holding them so others can join him on the elevator, but also so he can tell when it's safe to leave. 

He greets the nurses easily, smiling as a few of them remember him from before and bowing his head politely to them. One of them leads him to his room, a private one because this ward is hardly ever full, and lets him change. For the first day or so he has to wear a hospital gown. But once it reaches halfway through the week and the initial tests are done he can change into something easy to wear. He had brought a pair of sweatpants and a tank top for that purpose, along with a shawl his mother had left him, just to stay warm. 

Once the nurse is gone he carefully sets his bag on the bed and picks up the gown, navigating into the bathroom and shutting the door. He doesn’t bother with the lights in the room, there’s no point. Instead, he leans his cane against the wall and carefully strips. Folding his jeans and shirt before pulling the gown on over his boxers. He slips his socks off and exchanged them for a pair of fluffy ones that will keep him warm on the cold floor. Done he sets his folded clothes aside carefully and moves to use the restroom. 

Once he’s all ready and has washed his hands he picks his clothes up and the cane in one hand. Opening the door and heading back to his bed. He opens his bag and rustles through it. Pulling out headphones, his laptop, phone charger, and putting his clothes in next to the clean ones. Done he plugs everything in and sets it on the breakfast tray before climbing onto the bed, He had just settled in under the sheets when he heard a knock on the door and the curtains being pushed back. 

Turning to the door he sets his phone down and tilts his head. Listening to the sound of two footsteps, crossing the room to greet him. He blinks slowly, moving his head to try and follow the sound. When they come to a stop at the end of his bed he tilts his head some to look up where he thinks they are. 

“Yukwon! It’s nice to see you again.” He recognizes the voice when the other speaks up. Dr. Lee, the head of this ward. The other doctor was kind, much kinder than the initial doctor who had run this ward. Yukwon still remembered when it was passed over to Dr. Lee, the difference had been noticeable. For one Dr. Lee made sure to come and greet everyone once a week and make sure that they were all ok. Smiling, he looks towards the voice, giving a small laugh before speaking.

“I’d say the same but it’s more ‘nice to hear you.’” His lips curve up as the doctor chuckles, he feels the other’s hand grip his own and shake slightly before the doctor speaks again. 

“True,” he laughs softly, “and I know this isn’t your favorite time of the year. Coming here for your annual checkup can’t be fun. But you are always so good about it, even if you don’t like coming here we do all enjoy seeing you.” Yukwon smiles at that, nodding his head once. 

“It's something I’ve grown used to,” he says softly, “so it’s not a big deal.” 

“That's very wise,” the doctor sounds like he’s smiling, “well I just wanted to stop and say hi. But I also needed to introduce someone to you. He’s our new volunteer for this ward. He will be helping out while you are here.” 

“Oh?” Yukwon blinks, turning his head towards where he thinks the other is, even though he is off. “Hello.” 

“Oh… hello,” he hears the other speak up, his voice is pleasant and mellow. He hears the doctor elbow him, and the hissing whisper ‘tell him your name’ from Dr. Lee makes him have to hold in a smile. “Er… right… Uhm I’m Lee Minhyuk it’s nice to meet you.” Yukwon smiles softly at him, bobbing his head in a nod. 

“You too.” There's a momentary pause and then Dr. Lee is sighing, resigned sounding, before speaking up. 

“Right, well we are going to leave you now. Dr. Choi should be here soon.” Yukwon smiles and gives a small wave, “if you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask.” And with that, the other two are gone. Leaving Yukwon alone to wait for his doctor to arrive and tests to begin. 

Once Taeil heads off to do whatever he is required to do Minhyuk is put to work. The volunteer gets to help wipe things down with antibacterial wipes, goes to fetch drinks for the nurses, and even gathers meds and food for some patients. Although they don’t trust him to hand the meds out, just gather new prescriptions from the hospital pharmacy. By the time lunch comes around he is thoroughly exhausted and annoyed. 

But it's not over yet, lunch orders need to be passed out before he can even eat. His own order hasn’t arrived yet when he goes to take the food around. Pushing the cart from room to room and dropping meals off for everyone. He has to be careful to give the right orders to the right people. Between allergies and special diets, it was a nightmare trying to remember who got what, and he was extremely grateful for the chart. 

Finally, he makes his way to the last room, Yukwon’s room. He takes a slow breath before pushing the cart in, the only meals remaining on the cart are his and Yukwon’s. Moving to the room he pushes his cart to stop at the door. Reaching up to knock on it he waits for the other to turn towards him. 

“Hello?” Yukwon speaks up, blinking slowly as he stops the music he was listening to. Turning away from his laptop and to the door. 

“Hello, I have your lunch here?” Minhyuk moves inside, pushing the cart slowly. “It's a bibimbap bowl with some banchan and a side of fruit. Plus we have some green tea with honey.” Yukwon smiles, moving his laptop aside so the food can be set on his tray. 

“Thank you,” he says softly, listening as Minhyuk moves the food to his tray. “Are you going to eat now?” He asks moving to pick up his chopsticks and going to mix his food. Minhyuk blinks and looks at his tray. 

“Uh… yes, I was. I still have to find somewhere to eat but-” Yukwon’s head perks up and he smiles shyly at the other man. 

“Oh? You can eat here if you’d like?” He tilts his head, “I normally have my brother or father here with me but… well, let’s just say that wasn’t possible this year. I wouldn’t mind the company…” He admits shyly, slowly looking down into his food as he digs some up to eat. There’s a pause where Minhyuk tries to keep up with what the other said. He bites his lip and looks at his tray, slowly picking it up and dragging a chair over to sit near the other. 

“If it wouldn’t be a bother… I would love to eat here. Thank you,” he says softly, watching as a smile blooms across the other’s face. As he watches the other beam at him all he can think is just how beautiful he is. Minhyuk ducks his head, moving to open his own meal and settle in across from the other male. As he settles in all he can think is that he wants to get to know this male more. That there is something about him that Minhyuk can’t explain. Something that draws him to him, and makes his stomach feel like butterflies are dancing about. 

“Do you mind if we talk?” Yukwon asks shyly, “I normally talk with my family… and I would appreciate the distraction and company.” Minhyuk blinks, looking at the other he can see how lonely he is, and slowly he lets a small smile cross his face. 

“Sure,” He says softly, “I don’t mind at all.” He watches the other beam at him and feels his heart stutter. Minhyuk takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, unable to understand why he is reacting to the other like this. He was the cold and unfeeling Lee Minhyuk. He wasn’t supposed to be nervous and shy. But something about the other made him feel like a teenager. Looking over at the other he knew… just knew that after this week he was never going to be the same again. 

Their lunch was spent talking about random things. From favorite books and shows to music. They talked about family, where Minhyuk admitted his brother was Dr. Lee and Yukwon told him that his father had passed away last year. Then they moved onto pets and the other’s face lit up. 

“Oh, I have a cat!” He beams, “he’s a black cat and was missing all his teeth and is blind. We named him Toothless, after that movie? How to Train Your Dragon? He’s a sweetie pie, he meows at me if I get too close to him when we are walking.” He smiles, “I wanted a dog but they’re more expensive and hard to own if they aren’t seeing-eye dogs… and well those are so impossible to get here.” He shrugs, and smiles slightly, “but it’s ok. Toothless is my kitten and I love him a lot.” 

Minhyuk was startled at that, he guessed he had never considered the difficulty that may come if you were blind and wanted a pet dog. And the part about seeing-eye dogs… He was about to ask for more information when Dr. Choi showed up. Having to take the other off to get a few tests done. Minhyuk says goodbye and takes the cart with him as they head out. Leaving and going back to work. This time with a racing mind, wondering just how much he doesn’t know about the life of those with disabilities.

When he leaves later that night he goes home and opens his laptop, not to do work, but to do research. Trying to find out more about the struggles of people with disabilities… and more about how hard it is to get a service dog. He falls to bed even more confused than he had been earlier that day. And as he falls asleep he admits, his brother was right to request him to help out in his ward. Perhaps this would remind him why his family ran these hospitals in the first place. 

Perhaps… it would help him find his humanity through someone else. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! If you enjoyed this story, or any of my others, and would like to support me please check out my Ko-fi! I'm disabled and can't work most "normal" jobs so this would be a big help for expenses. I have my Ko-fi base set up for 1$. Thanks, guys!   
> https://ko-fi.com/eryn13


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